1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a baseball catching training device which forces a player to follow a gloved hand with the other hand to thereby use both hands to catch. It involves two yolks for the wrist and a flexible connecting strap.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following patents are examples of sports training devices on U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,228 issued to Norman et al. describes an adjustable tether for joining the upper arms of a golfer together to coordinate the relative motion of the arms of the golfer during his swing. The arm joining tether comprises first and second generally Y-shaped flexible straps each having a stem portion which is bifurcated so as to terminate in branch portions which may be joined by suitable fasteners to form arm engaging loops. The stem portions may also be joined by a suitable two-element separable fastener and when in use, the joined stem portions span the chest of the user. It has been found that mating hook and loop type fasteners are ideally suited for joining the Y-shaped flexible strap members, one to the other, and in coupling the branch portions of each to form the aforesaid arm engaging loops. Further, each of the individual Y-shaped strap members is marked with a suitable graduated marking to facilitate the sizing of the device to golfers of different physical size.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,610 issued to Carr describes how there is disclosed a holder for a baseball glove, particularly a fielder's glove and a training aid. The holder comprises a body with a scoop formed of a stiff, shape-retaining sheet material having a rear face with a convex contour conforming to the ball pocket of a fielder's glove. The glove is received over the rear face of the scoop and is retained in this assembly by a cover which fits over the rear of the glove. Preferably, the cover is webbing which overlies the rear of the fingers of the glove and the sheet material is a resilient plastic thereby permitting the glove former to be used as a training aid which requires the player to use both hands when fielding a ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,833 issued to Groveman et al. describes a wrist band that is provided for each of the user's wrists, such wrist bands being removably attachable to the wrists by wrapping therearound and securing in place by a fastening device such as a velcro fastener. Each band has a looped thong extended therefrom in the direction of the user's fingers, the user's middle finger fitting through the thong such that palmar flexion of the hand is restricted. The wrist bands are joined together by a strap which is attached to the bands in the region of the user's thumbs. The user's wrists are thus joined together so that in preparing for and in making a tennis stroke, the arms move together so as to facilitate the training of a player to turn the shoulders and twist the body. A single one of the wrist bands can also be used on the hand used for making the toss in serving to train the player to toss the ball straight up or on the racquet holding hand to train the player to avoid palmar flexion while driving the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,238 issued to Hayes describes a support portion for a baseball glove which may be integrally formed with the glove or separately attached thereto, the support portion being attached to a back wall of the glove so as to extend a distance above and below the free lower edge of the front wall of the glove sufficient to cover a lower back portion of the user's hand, the back of the user's wrist, and a back portion of the user's forearm. The support portion includes a securing member adapted to wrap around a user's arm below the wrist. In use, the support portion serves the dual purposes of supporting the user's wrist against injurious bending and imparting a natural control and feel to the glove. The support portion may include indentations on each side to provide a greater lateral and forward hand and wrist flexibility while still providing support for the backward motion of the hand and wrist. The strap portion may include an elastic member to provide a better fit on various sized user's wrists.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,179 issued to Breed describes a golf putting training device includes a laterally adjustable spacing member, a pair of pivotally adjustable forearm bracing members attached on opposing ends thereof, and an adjustable strap on one of the bracing members for securing the training device to the user's forearm. The training device is adjustable to the varying spacial and angular alignments of the user's forearms and can be adjusted to accommodate a plurality of different user's forearms for use during the putting stroke. The adjustable training device correctly positions the forearms in spaced relation, and effectively stabilizes them, thus preventing relative motion with respect to one another during the putting stroke.
Notwithstanding the above prior art, it is believed that the device and method set forth herein is neither taught nor rendered obvious.